This team needs to focus on making the playoffs because that is far from a given. No one is freaking out because we are 1 and 2. We are freaking out because the problems we are seeing today have been around in the past but in smaller amounts and more often than not we managed to miraculously overcome them. The 2015 record and even the final scores make it seem like we destroyed everyone in our path but the reality was we had all the issues we have today but found ways to pull it off. Inconsistency, coming out flat, Palmer throwing bad picks, Butler and ST stinking up the joint, questionable play calling, defensive woes... All of it. But it usually wasn't all at once and it wasnt as amplified.
Isnt miraculously overcoming setbacks what all good teams do? Im just playing devil's advocate here, you guys seem to do the deep research, but isnt it possible that all the other 11+ win teams in this league have to go through the same stuff we did on our way to 13-3 last year? I certainly didnt pay attention to those other teams' games to know if they didnt have the same type of issues. No one rolls through the entire season without hiccups, right?
We definitely have issues. My argument is that in a parity filled league, we are definitely not the only team as such. But we as fans are looking at our teams issues in a microcosm. Not considering that fans of the patriots arent doing the same...nevermind. Patriot fans are infernally annoying. Maybe say Denver at 3-0, and Philly at the same. Maybe their fans arent freaking out, too?
I just think we're not that different than any other upper echelon team in this league. Good days and bad. And when the bad ones come you either rise to the occasion or you whither and die. We havent built historically winning culture as an organization yet to feel we have turned the corner. The players however, havent been here long enough to be as shell shocked as the fans. Lets hope the keep their blinders on, and start putting up a little fight.
Positional deficiencies aside, the problem I worry about is whether or not these players have the intestinal fortitude to handle the adversity. Lots of roster churn, and a coach saying the youngsters arent buying into the culture just yet is what concerns me.
